The invention relates to weapons and in particular to reciprocally-cycled, small and medium caliber weapons.
A reciprocally cycled, externally actuated weapon is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,297,167 issued on Oct. 30, 2012 to Brian Hoffman and having the same assignee as the present patent application. The contents of U.S. Pat. No. 8,297,167 are incorporated by reference herein.
The weapon disclosed in the '167 patent is suitable, for example, for firing belted ammunition that uses open-end links. Examples of open-end linked ammunition are shown in FIGS. 12C and 12D. Because much belted ammunition uses closed-end links, a need exists for a weapon similar to the weapon of the '167 patent, but with the ability to fire belted ammunition that uses open-end links or closed-end links, such as the closed-end linked ammunition shown in FIGS. 12E and 12F.
In addition, it is desirable for a weapon to have “first round select” capability. “First round select” is the ability of the weapon to fire, on the very first cycle following a magazine change, the same ammunition type that was just loaded in a magazine, even if the ammunition type presented to the weapon in the previous magazine was of a different type. Another desirable feature is “first cycle fire.” “First cycle fire” is the weapon's ability to fire a cartridge on the very first operating cycle following a magazine upload. Many small and medium caliber weapons require one or more charging cycles when initially presented with a belted ammunition supply, before the first shot may be fired.
It is advantageous for externally-powered small and medium caliber weapons that rely on an external power supply to consume as little power as possible. And, it is desirable for a weapon to have small downrange projectile dispersion (for example, tighter shot groups).
A need exists for a weapon that possesses one or more of the advantageous features described above.